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Birth:          ABT 1080 
Death:          ABT 1127 

Notes
d c 1126/1127
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morphia_of_Melitene
Morphia of Melitene, or Morfia, or Moraphia (died c. 1126 or 1127) was the wife of 
Baldwin II, king of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.[1]

Morphia was the daughter of an Armenian nobleman named Gabriel (or Khoril, in 
Armenian), the ruler of the city of Melitene. Although ethnically Armenian, the family 
practised the Greek Orthodox faith. Melitene was a neighbour of the crusader County 
of Edessa, and Gabriel soon became a vassal of the county. The future Baldwin II of 
Jerusalem was also count of Edessa after 1100, and he consolidated his position in 
the county by marrying Morphia around 1101. Gabriel, who was very wealthy, gave 
50,000 gold bezants as a dowry.

Baldwin was a crusader knight who carved out the Crusader State of Edessa and 
married Morphia, daughter of the Armenian Prince Gabriel of Melitene, in a diplomatic 
marriage to fortify alliances in the region.[2][3]

Baldwin and Morphia had four daughters:
Melisende, married Fulk, King of Jerusalem[4]
Alice, married Bohemond II of Antioch[4]
Hodierna, married Raymond II, Count of Tripoli[4]
Ioveta.

The family lived in Edessa until 1118, when her spouse was elected as the King of 
Jerusalem as successor of his cousin Baldwin I. When Baldwin became King of 
Jerusalem in 1118, Morphia and her children remained in Edessa.

By the time of his election as king, Baldwin II and Morphia already had three 
daughters.[2] As the new king, Baldwin II had been encouraged to put away Morphia 
in favor of a new younger wife with better political connections- one that could yet 
bear him a male heir. Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa wrote that Baldwin II was 
thoroughly devoted to his wife,[2] and refused to consider divorcing her.[2] As a mark 
of his love for his wife, Baldwin II had postponed his coronation until Christmas Day 
1119 so that Morphia and his daughters could travel to Jerusalem, and so that 
Morphia could be crowned alongside him as his queen.[2]

For her part, Morphia did not interfere in the day to day politics of Jerusalem, but 
demonstrated her ability to take charge of affairs when events warranted it.[2] When 
Baldwin was captured during a campaign in 1123, Morphia hired a band of Armenian 
mercenaries to discover where her husband was being held prisoner,[2] and in 1124 
Morphia took a leading part in the negotiations with Baldwin's captors to have him 
released, including traveling to Syria and handing over her youngest daughter Ioveta 
as hostage and as surety for the payment of the king's ransom.[2]

According to the Melisende Psalter, Morphia died on October 1, but the year is 
unknown; it was either 1126 or 1127, more likely 1126. With no male heir, Baldwin II 
designated Melisende, his oldest daughter, as his heir, and married her to Fulk V of 
Anjou.[5] Two of their other daughters also married influential crusader lords: Alice 
married Bohemund II of Antioch, and Hodierna married Raymond II of Tripoli. Ioveta 
became a nun.

Morphia was probably partially responsible for the Greek and Armenian cultural 
influences that appeared in the Latin kingdom. Art from the kingdom, such as the 
Melisende Psalter, often shows a mixture of eastern and western styles, just as the 
western crusaders had begun to accustom themselves to eastern culture. Morphia was 
buried at the Abbey of St. Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat, just outside Jerusalem.

Parents
____ Gabriel "the Armenian" (ABT 1040 - ABT 1102)
----- ----- ()

Siblings
OF MELITENE Morphia (Malfia) (ABT 1080 - ABT 1127)

Marriage To ____ Baldwin II (ABT 1085 - 21 Aug 1131)
    m. 1101 

Notes

Parents
____ Hugh I (ABT 1040 - ABT 1118)
DE MONTLHERY Melisende (ABT 1045 - 1097)

Children by ____ Baldwin II ABT 1085 - 21 Aug 1131
OF ANTIOCH Alice (ABT 1110 - AFT 1136)

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